Two-Thirds of a Proper Ripken Collection

Ripken's been a favorite of mine as long as I've been collecting. It took me until just last year to pick up his rookie card, which I had my little sister pick up for me off the Ebay. She's internet savvy and was actually the first one in my family to earn a bit of scratch on Ebay when she sold her My Little Pony collection. What a jerk of a big brother I sound like, forcing my little sis to spend her hard-earned My Little Pony money on baseball cards. But don't be fooled. I'm not robbing a baby sister's piggy bank. She's away in Texas working as an optometrist for the Air Force, while I'm a lowly writer/teacher/grad student. I thought it would be a more convenient way for her to shop for Christmas. So there you go, parents: Encourage playing with My Little Ponies and you might get yourself an optometrist; let your kids play with cardboard and they'll pick up some ridiculous job that will fate them to eternal poverty and obscurity.

Here's the rookie card she snagged:

This is actually my favorite rookie of Ripken's, aside from the Topps Traded white whale. We get an action shot of Cal here, rather than a posed closeup of mini-Cal squished between two scrubs. Sure, there's not much action in this action shot, and it looks to be taken at spring training. Still, it's a pretty great card, one of the favorites in my collection.

One of the other favorite cards in my collection is this one:

Here's my first and only game-used Cal card: 2001 Fleer Platinum National Patch Time. The word play is clever, but I don't quite understand why there aren't any patches on these cards. It seems like if they're going to call the set "Patch" Time, there should be some patches. Perhaps it should have been National Pants Time. Not as catchy?

I don't mean to complain. This is a great card, which I snagged off Ebay for a little less than $5.00 shipped. I like the black of the jersey and the way you can see the texture of the stretched fabric with the white in the background. And, since it's black, I know this isn't a piece of pants. I guess it can't be National Pants Time, then.

These two cards put me two-thirds away from having a trifecta of the Iron Man. Now I just need an auto. Anyone have a double they want to trade? Yeah right. I guess I'll just have to send little sister back to the bay. Or perhaps I'll try a TTM auto, which I've never done. Does anyone know where to send Ripken auto requests? I hear Cal's great about signing.

By the way, I just hit my first milestone as a blogger. This is my fiftieth post.